Lena Cup Menstrual Cup Pros and Cons

Lena Cup Review

The LENA Feminine Hygiene Cup has a 4.7/5 star rating on Amazon, which is higher than just about any other menstrual cup on the market. Not only is it well-loved, but it’s an affordable choice because some of the other cups come to $30 or more for a very similar product.

The best part about it the Lena Cup is that it’s made in the USAof the highest quality medical grade silicone. It’s easy to insert, and remove because it has a nice, medium level stiffness. Most people find that it doesn’t leak.

A few years ago, this period cup wasn’t that well known. However in recent years, the Lena Cup has become one of the most popular menstrual cups on the market today. On this website, it’s climbed numerous spots during the past year or two and it’s now one our most often recommended cups.

Reasonably priced, hundreds of great reviews on Amazon, widely available on Amazon, a nice design and fit. What’s not to love about the Lena Cup?

About the Lena Cup Company

The founder of the Lena Cup company hopes to empower people to make better choices for their bodies and our planet. The company is committed to providing an affordable, high-quality menstrual cup.

Based in California, they make their products with minimal waste and impact on the environment. They use locally sourced and tested materials, and we love that their packaging is chlorine-free and printed with vegetable inks.

What’s not to love about the Lena Cup company?

Two Sizes of Lena Menstrual Cup

In terms of capacity, diameter and length, the Lena Cup is pretty standard in the menstrual cup world. We love that the difference in diameter between the small and the large is a full 5 mm. Some menstrual cup companies have two cups that are in fact not really different from each other.

What people on Amazon are saying about the Lena Cup:

“I love this menstrual cup. It’s easy to insert and doesn’t leak, unlike some of the more expensive sanitary cups that I’ve tried. It just seems to pop open and sit in place right below my cervix.”

“It’s a nice thickness so it’s easy to fold, but still pops open. I just found that it suctioned to my vaginal walls quite nicely. I used the Lunette Cup for years, and still struggled with getting it to pop open. Not this one though!”

“This is an excellent alternative to the Diva Cup. It feels way more comfortable once it’s inside of me.”

“A nice, attractive design. I love the colour of it and I find it doesn’t get stained and discoloured as easily as the DivaCup does. But, it’s not flashy-it just works! By working, I mean that it doesn’t leak all the time like some of the other sanitary cups that I’ve tried over the years. I’ve found myself recommending the Lena Cup to a ton of my friends.”

Our Top-Rated Period Cup

Does the Lena Menstrual Cup sound the one for you? It’s our top-rated cup here at this website and we LOVE this thing. It’s actually the best thing to hit the menstrual cup world in years.

In fact, the author of most of the articles on this website personally uses the Lena Cup most of the time! It’s comfortable, easy to insert and doesn’t leak.

You can easily get the Lena Cup for yourself on Amazon today:

Is the Lena Cup Safe to Use?

An excellent question that many people ask is whether or not the Lena Cup is safe to use. You’ll wear a menstrual cup inside of you for up to a week each month, so it’s an important question to consider.

In short, the Lena Cup is perfectly safe to use. It’s one of the few menstrual cups registered with the FDA. The cup itself is made from top-quality, medical grade materials. The silicone is free of BPA, latex, and it won’t leach toxins or chemicals into your bloodstream.

Compare this to tampons which contain all sorts of chemicals and pesticides from the cotton in them, as well as the manufacturing process. Although they are only there in trace amounts, exposure to these things can add up over time, resulting in some serious side effects.

What about Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS?) with a Lena Cup?

Another important factor to consider is the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome with menstrual cups, including the Lena Cup.

To date, there has only been one reported case of TSS being caused by a menstrual cup. The cup itself wasn’t actually the Lena Cup, it was a competing brand. Compare this to the thousands of cases each year being cause by tampon usage.

Clearly, menstrual cups like the Lena Cup are a much safer alternative than tampons when considering the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome, as well as when considering the overall exposure to pesticides and chemicals.

What about the Lena Cup Sensitive Model?

A new offering from the Lena Cup company, the sensitive version can work well for people who need a smaller, softer menstrual cup. This is especially true if you have a sensitive bladder, and find that the bigger, harder cups push too strongly against yours and you feel like you constantly have to pee when using a menstrual cup.

Although the company doesn’t specifically mention this, menstrual cups can sometimes cause cramping. This is because the cup can push too strongly against the vaginal canal walls. Sometimes the cup is too big, and sometimes it’s too stiff. Trying out a softer cup like the Lena Sensitive is a good option for you.

We appreciate this new offering because we find that the regular Lena Cup is quite stiff, and may not be suitable for everyone.

You can check out the Lena Cup Sensitive on Amazon:

How Stiff is the Lena Cup?

You might be wondering how the Lena Cup stacks up against the others in terms of stiffness. Is it a soft, or firm menstrual cup?

In general, softer menstrual cups feel quite comfortable inside of you because they don’t press strongly against your vaginal canal walls. However, they can be more difficult to insert because they don’t just “pop” open. They might take some fiddling around to get it to fully open, and suction to your vaginal canals walls.

The firmer menstrual cups open quite easily once inserted into your vaginal canal. However, some people may find them uncomfortable because they press quite strongly against the vaginal canal walls. They may even cause cramps in some cases.

Check out this menstrual cup firmness chart:

As you can see, the regular Lena Cup is considered to be “firm,” while the Lena sensitive is a “soft” cup.

Compared to the popular Diva Cup, the regular one is firmer, and the sensitive is softer.

Can I Pee with the Lena Cup In?

A common question that people have is whether or not they can pee while wearing a Lena Cup (or other menstrual cup). The short answer is yes, it is indeed possible to pee while you have a Lena Cup inserted.

A quick anatomy lesson. You have three holes down there: an anus, urethra, and vagina. You put a menstrual cup into your vagina, while you pee out of the urethra, and poop out of the anus. So, a menstrual cup should interfere with neither peeing, or pooping.

However, some people find that it takes a looooooong time to pee while wearing a menstrual cup. This is a common experience and it happens because your vagina and urethra are right in the same area. When you wear a menstrual cup, it’s quite large and can press against your urethra, restricting it slightly. This is why it can take longer to pee than when you don’t wear a menstrual cup.

If you find it uncomfortable to pee while wearing a menstrual cup, all is not lost. Try a softer cup, like the Lena sensitive model. It won’t press so strongly against your vaginal canal walls, which means it won’t press so strongly against your urethra when peeing. Hopefully you won’t experience discomfort this way.

What about Sex with the Lena Cup?

A common question that people have is whether or not they can have sex while wearing the Lena Cup. Our somewhat cheeky answer is that it depends on what kind of sex!

For anything up to penetrative sex, a Lena Cup will work great. In fact, it’s often better than a tampon because there are no strings hanging out, and your partner may never know that you actually have your period.

However, for penetrative sex, the Lena Cup (along with all the other traditional menstrual cups) is not suitable. There just isn’t room for all that stuff in there! And, all that movement will certainly break the suction seal between your Lena Cup and vaginal canal walls, which will cause it to leak like crazy.

A Better Alternative for Period Sex

If you’re not ready to give up yet, and want to have penetrative sex during your period, then you’ll need to check out the Instead Soft Cups.

Unlike the Lena Cup, these things are soft, flexible, and flat. They’re designed to sit up right under your cervix, unlike menstrual cups which sit low in your vaginal canal.

The major downside to them is that they’re disposable, which means you lose out on the cost savings, as well as the environmental benefits of menstrual cups.

We recommend using something like the Lena Cup for everyday use, but then keeping a box of Soft Cups in your cupboard for sex during your period.

Soft Cups are not that easy to find in stores, so we recommend getting them on Amazon:

Lena Cup Cons:

The capacity of the bigger cup is 30 ml, which is pretty standard, but it may not work that well for women with really heavy flows. If this is the case, you should try the Meluna Cup(42 ml capacity) or the Anigan Eva Cup (37 ml capacity). The small version with a capacity of 25 ml may not be enough for women with a heavy flow.

More Lena Cup Reviews

Care and Cleaning of the Lena Cup

Menstrual cups can last for yearswith proper care during your period, as well as between cycles. Here are a few tips that the company recommends for making sure your Lena Cup stays in tip-top shape for years to come.

Wash your hands with soap and water before handling your Lena Cup, as well as after reinserting it. The main thing you DON’T want to do is introduce all sorts of germs into your vaginal canal.

During your period, wash your period cup every time you take it out with mild soap and water. Never use harsh chemicals. Be sure to wash off any soap residue thoroughly before reinserting your cup.

You can also consider using something like the Lunette Feelbetter Menstrual Cup Cleanser or the Pixie Wash. Although they are a bit expensive, you only need a tiny bit to get your menstrual cup squeaky clean. They smell nice, and are often made from all-natural ingredients.

If you’re in a public bathroom, empty the cup, and wipe off with some toilet paper. Be sure to wash thoroughly the next time you’re in a private bathroom.

After your period, you can boil your Lena Cup for 5-7 minutes. Try not to let your cup touch the edges of the pot.

The most important thing is to store your cup NOT in an airtight container. Air circulation discourages bacteria growth. Put your cup in the cloth bag that came with it, or wrap it loosely in a piece of paper towel and store it in a drawer.

If you’re having a difficult time inserting your Lena Cup, do NOT use lubricant to assist the process. This will cause the silicone to degrade more quickly. Instead, get your Lena Cup a little bit wet to help get it in there more easily.

Can I use the Lena Cup with an IUD?

In general, it’s possible to use a menstrual cup with an IUD. It just requires some extra care and caution so as to not dislodge your IUD upon removal of the cup. Here are a few tips from the company:

Consult your physician before using a menstrual cup with an IUD.

Get your doctor to trim the strings on your IUD as short as possible so that they don’t come into contact with one another.

Make sure there is enough room between your cervix and the Lena Cup. The Lena Cup is designed to sit low in your vaginal canal, but if you have a low-cervix, it may not work for you (Consider a low cervix menstrual cup instead).

Make sure to release the suction on your Lena Cup before attempting to remove it. You do this by pinching the base of the cup between your fingers and wiggling it gently.

If you can’t reach the base of the cup, pull down on the stem gently and push with the muscles in your pelvis. Only do this until you can reach the base, and then release the suction.

If you just pull strongly on the stem without releasing the suction, it’s possible to pull out the IUD along with your Lena Cup.

Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) and the Lena Cup

A common question that people have is whether or not using the Lena Cup comes along with the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). Let’s look at the facts.

To date, there has only been one reported case of Toxic Shock Syndrome from using a menstrual cup (but not the Lena Cup). It happened because the person cut themselves when inserting the cup at the beginning of their period.

However, each year there are thousands of reported cases of TSS from using tampons. When considering the number of people that use tampons worldwide, the risk is still very low, especially if you take precautions such as changing it often enough, or using as low of absorbency level as possible.

It is clear though that menstrual cups, including the Lena Cup are safer than tampons when considering the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.

The Lena Cup vs. the Others

The Lena cup is comparable in quality to the most popular menstrual cups in the world. Compared to the Diva Cup, Moon Cup, or the Lunette Cup, the shape is a bit more cylindrical, like a bell and less like a cone.

For the full details of the Lena Cup vs. all the others, check out these articles:

Isn’t the Lena Cup Kind of Expensive?

If you search on Amazon for “menstrual cups,” you’ll see pages and pages of results. There are 50+ brands, and each one has different size and style options.

You may also notice that the Lena Cup is one of the more expensivemenstrual cups. You may not care about spending a few extra bucks on a top-quality menstrual cup, but if you’re trying to live frugally, it may be a question that you have.

These cheap menstrual cups have numerous problems, but the main one is the material used in them. In most cases, it’s very cheap silicone that is not medical grade. They’re usually very flimsy and will never really fully open inside of you. The result is that they can leak like crazy. The materials also degrade very quickly, and you’ll probably end up buying a better cup in only a few months.

It’s better to skip over this first step, and get a top-quality menstrual cup like the Lena Cup to start with. In fact, the Lena Cup is a few dollars cheaper than some of the older menstrual cups on the market today. The company is committed to offering an excellent product at a fair price, which is why we recommend the Lena Cup so highly.

The Takeaway on the Lena Menstrual Cup:

This menstrual cup is an excellent choice if you’re looking for an affordable alternative to something like the Diva Cupor the Lunette Cup. It’s made in the USA and has a very high ranking on Amazon (4.7/5 with 1000+ reviews). There are no real complaints at all specific to this product, mostly just from women who don’t like menstrual cups in general or are having a hard time getting the hang of them.

Perhaps the only negative to the Lena Cup is the capacity and length. The bigger model at 30 ml is standard in the menstrual cup world. The smaller cup with a capacity of 25 ml is smaller than average. For women who are smaller, but have a heavy flow, this may not work that well.

At 71 mm, the length of the Lena Cup is at the long end of menstrual cups. For most people with a medium to high cervix, it’s fine. However, for people with a low cervix, the Lena Cup may not be the best choice.

But, if you have a medium to high cervix and a normal flow, then the Lena Cup is an extremely economical, top-quality choice. It’s one of most highly recommended menstrual cups here on this website.

Where to Buy the Lena Cup

In our experience, it’s hard to find the Lena Cup in most local drugstores. It’s pretty new to the menstrual cup scene, so it’s not as widely available as something like the Diva Cup(North America), or MoonCup/Lunette Cup (Europe).

The best place to buy the Lena Cup is on Amazon. You’ll have all the size (small/large) options, as well as both models (regular/sensitive). Prices are reasonable, and shipping is often free with Amazon prime.